FIELD BOOK OF MAMMALS 



ization along our Atlantic seaboard, the Virginia Deer in 

 many places not only has held its own but has even increased. 

 Today it is not exaggerating conditions to state that the total 

 White-tailed Deer population of the United States is probably 

 as great as it ever was. In spite of the great number killed 

 annually by sportsmen, many thousands, this species shows 

 no immediate prospect of extermination. This state of affairs 

 is due to two factors, the wise policy of conservation adopted 

 by most states in their game laws and to the adaptability of 

 the Deer itself. 



The cutting down of vast primeval forests, and the subse- 

 quent springing up of second growth vegetation, has added 

 much territory to the natural range of the Virginia Deer. 

 This Deer does not prefer dense stands of primeval forest, but 

 delights in openings and glades interspersed with enough tim- 

 ber and shrubbery to give it adequate cover. The abandon- 

 ment of worked-out New England farms has provided this 

 animal with very acceptable homes and feeding grounds. 



The doe has from one to three fawns at a birth, but as a 

 general rule she has twins. They are bom from late May to 

 early July. 



The bucks shed their antlers any time from late December 

 to March. The new antlers appear from two to six weeks 

 after shedding, and grow rapidly as the spring feed improves. 

 By late summer they have attained their full size, but are 

 still in the velvet. In September the bucks begin to rub the 

 velvet from the antlers which are now hard and insensitive. 



Mating takes place in late October, November and early 

 December. 



Subgenus Eucervus 



Black-tailed Deer. — Odocoileus hemionus 



and related forms 



Names.— Mule Deer; Black-tailed Deer. Plate XLIV. 



General Description. — Rather heavier in build and more 

 robust than the White-tailed Deer; ears larger and tip of tail 

 black instead of white; antlers with tines pronged in contrast 

 to the single, undivided tines of the White-tailed Deer; meta- 

 tarsal gland unusually large; gait high and bounding. 



Color. — Sexes alike in color. 



520 



